Dancing With the Devil
by ElusiveMuse89
Summary: AU where the Cuban Missile Crisis ends a little differently. Charles joins Shaw. Erik continues his quest for revenge whilst simultaneously keeping Charles' "dream" alive. Meanwhile, shenanigans happen at the Hellfire club while Shaw continues on his quest for world domination. Westchester is named neutral territory. Battlelines are a bit blurry.
1. I'll Lead, You Follow

"A little warning next time, Professor?"

_He's dangerous._

_I wonder if there's anything he_ can't _do?_

_So glad I'm on his side._

Charles forced a sheepish smile on his face. "Sorry about that," he muttered._ Focus on the mission, Charles,_ he told himself._ Once this is all over, you won't ever have to see any of them ever again._

Finding more mutants wasn't the dream-come-true that Charles had thought it would be. It was supposed to be the beginning of something wonderful. Charles had only ever wanted to be accepted by someone, anyone. He thought that if he found other mutants, he would finally be accepted. He'd tried that with humans. He would tell everyone he met about his special gifts, and then prove it, hoping someone would understand. Their reactions were all disturbingly similar-_ horror, fear, disgust, monster, evil,_ he was even called_ 'spawn of the devil'_ once. He would immediately wipe the knowledge of his abilities from their minds, because thoughts like those hurt to listen to on a daily basis. He'd told his father once and ended up in a lab for a brief time. The cold, clinical thoughts of his father's scientific mind hurt almost as much as people's fear of him. So, Charles wiped his memory. He had told his mother, as well, but wiped her memory when she started thinking of dumping him somewhere, anywhere, far away from her.

He only tolerated Raven's reaction because she was another mutant like himself. Her attitude toward his telepathy lightened considerably when he promised he would "stay out of her head." He couldn't just turn off his abilities on command, but she didn't need to know that, as long as she felt safer around him. At one time, Raven was a reminder that there had to be others out there like them. Now she was living proof that he was more alone than ever. Yes, it was all "mutant and proud" most of the time, but around Charles was the constant chant, _stay out of my head, stay out of my head, stay out of my head._

"That was inspired, Charles," said Moira.

_-dangerous, shouldn't be allowed that kind of power-_

Charles tried to ignore the stray thought that accompanied her words. Didn't these people realize they were broadcasting? He was tired of this. The longer Shaw evaded them, the longer Charles was forced to tolerate these people and their fear. Each time he revealed a new facet of his talents that fear grew. Charles loathed that fear, because he had done nothing to inspire it. He had never used his gifts to hurt people, only to help them. Charles was done. Sure, he would see this mission through because he had given his word, but afterwards, he was done. He'd let them all go their own separate ways, and then he'd find a new dream to chase. Maybe even do some travelling.

Before he knew it, the jet had made a rough landing, and Charles found himself issuing instructions to everyone. Efficiency was the key. The sooner this was done and over with, the better.

Then, the unthinkable happened: Erik lost Shaw.

"What?" Charles snapped . "He's got to be there. He has to be! There's nowhere else he can be. Keep looking."

"And I'm telling you he's not. There's no one here," Erik insisted. Charles felt a hot rage flow through him. They had it all planned out. Or rather, he had it all planned out. It was supposed to end today. Tomorrow, they were going to celebrate a job well done, and the next day they'd say goodbye and go their separate ways.

"Charles?" Charles blinked. Moira was eyeing him in concern, and there was confusion coming from Erik, and from somewhere Charles couldn't pinpoint was _-angry telepath, can't be good- _Charles shook his head to clear it. He must have been projecting.

**I'm on my way, Erik,** Charles said mentally. They would find Shaw today. Charles didn't know how much longer he could handle this.

Ignoring Moira's questions and Erik's objections, Charles stepped out of the plane and ran toward the submarine, neatly dodging Hank and Azazel falling out of the sky and mentally advising Riptide that it wouldn't be wise to upset the telepath. Charles had nearly arrived at Erik's location, when he heard a voice speaking, and he mentally shot a wave of annoyance at Erik. Couldn't the man at least have told Charles he found their target? A slight shudder shook Erik's body, but aside from that he ignored Charles. The telepath refrained from smothering the metal-bender with his frustration. There were bigger fish to fry.

"Ah, Erik, you brought a friend!" came a delighted exclamation.

Charles stepped around Erik so he could get a good look at their adversary for the first time. He couldn't see much more than Shaw's face, due to the ridiculous helmet he was wearing, and something about the mirrored room they were now standing in felt wrong somehow. But something about Shaw himself was different from anyone Charles had ever met, something Charles couldn't quite lay his finger on. It was almost intriguing, but Charles couldn't dwell on it. He had a mission to focus on.

"You must be Charles Xavier, telepath extraordinaire," Shaw beamed, as if meeting Charles was the happiest moment in his life.

"Do it now, Charles!" Erik said tensely.

Now_ he acknowledges me,_ Charles thought bitterly. But this wasn't the time or place for self-pity. Charles reached out toward Shaw's mind and-_ felt nothing!_ Startled, Charles took a quick step backward. This had never happened before. Why couldn't he read Shaw's mind? Charles glanced around the room for an answer, any answer, and finally his gaze rested on the Helmet. It was his new nemesis; it deserved to be capitalized. Charles eyed the Helmet with a new respect.

"Do you like the helmet?" Shaw asked. He then confirmed Charles' suspicion. "It keeps telepaths out of my head. Never needed it before-" Shaw broke off and stepped aside as Erik lunged at him without warning. With a mere touch, Shaw sent Erik flying into a wall. Charles winced inwardly, wishing for the first time that he had a more aggressive mutation. Telepathy could be quite powerful, true, but as long as Shaw was wearing that blasted Helmet, Charles was useless here. Emma Frost had a nice secondary mutation that complemented her telepathy quite nicely, why couldn't Charles have the same?

Shaw turned to Charles. "You remind me of my Emma," he said. "You appear so calm and collected, but I bet deep down you are burning with a fierce anger. I can help you with that." With a flick of his wrist, he sent Erik smashing into another wall. "Don't interrupt, Erik. It's rude," Shaw admonished. He turned back to Charles. "I don't understand. Why are you on their side?"

**Erik, get the helmet off, while he's distracted. There is nothing I can do as long as he is wearing it.**

"They'll never accept you."

"I'm not on anyone's side," Charles replied. It dawned on him that this wasn't true until recently. If he had not gotten himself involved in this mess, he would still be happily living under his idealistic delusions. "This is only temporary. A week from now, all of this will only be an interesting memory."

"But now the humans have seen what you can do," Shaw countered. "Do you really think they'll just let all of you walk away?"

"What makes you think they'll remember?" Charles answered. He tapped his temple. "People have poor memories, you know."

Shaw laughed delightedly. "Oh, I like you. I like you a lot. You'll fit in quite nicely."

**STEP BACK!** Erik's mental voice screamed. It was all Charles could do not to react outwardly. Seriously, Charles should have taught him not to think so loudly. The man did not know how to project.

Charles stepped backward through the doorway of the mirror room just in time. Glass shattered as various pipes and metal framing burst through the walls and ceiling, flying straight at Shaw. Charles couldn't help but be impressed, but he had to admonish Erik.

**That was entirely unnecessary. I told you, you need to get the helmet off.**

**GIVE ME A MINUTE.**

Shaw was not affected in the slightest by Erik's show of power. He simply pushed the metal bits aside and stepped towards Erik, trapping the metal-bender behind a large metal support beam. "You've come a long way from bending gates, Erik," Shaw said softly. "And you're just starting to scratch the surface. Think how much further we could go together."

Charles could only stare at Shaw in awe. His mutation was amazing! It was a shame the man was a dangerous psychopath. Charles would have loved to learn more. Then Shaw leaned forward and spoke softly to Erik. Charles frowned, curious about what was being said, but his attention was drawn to a metal wire slowly moving toward the unsuspecting Shaw. It was about time! Charles raised his hand to his temple and waited.

"Now, Charles!" Erik shouted.

Charles immediately dived into Shaw's mind just as the man whirled around to make a useless grab for the Helmet. A moment later, Charles had frozen the man in place. Then he frowned. Most people Charles froze put up a big fight to regain control of their bodies. Shaw didn't protest. He wasn't even preparing to fight, which confused Charles. It was as if Shaw wasn't even-

**I'm not.** came Shaw's mental voice.

Charles paused. Then-** Pardon me?**

**You're broadcasting. You were thinking that it's as if I'm not even afraid of you. I'm not.**

**You should be. I can do anything to you now.**

**I'm not.**

Charles prodded deeper into Shaw's mind-with no resistance- and realized it was true. Charles shook his head at the irony. All his life he had searched for someone who wasn't afraid of what he could do and now he had found him in a madman. Now what?

**Join me,** Shaw entreated.** It's a lonely,cruel world for a telepath. For any mutant, really, but more so for a telepath.**

Charles thought about it. He couldn't just join Shaw could he? The man was unbalanced. He was trying to start a war. He was-

**Time is running out, Charles. Or are you going to let Erik just kill me?**

Startled, Charles peered out of Shaw's eyes to see that Erik had been talking this whole time, clearly under the impression that someone was listening. "I'm going to count to three and I'm going to move the coin," Erik was saying. Then a coin was floating through the air straight at Charles- no, _straight at Shaw._

In a split second, Charles released Shaw, shouting, "Don't kill him!" Charles didn't know whether he was yelling at Shaw or Erik, but he did know that he didn't want either of them to die. He and Erik had grown quite close over the past weeks, and Shaw- Shaw _understood._

Shaw snatched the coin out of midair, delighted. Erik stared at Charles in shock. "Why did you let him go?"

Charles could only stare in disbelief at Shaw's Helmet, which was now_ on Erik's head!_

"Erik, what are you doing with his Helmet?" Charles demanded.

"You let him go!" Erik growled.

"Why do I feel like there are two different conversations going on here?" Shaw said calmly, toying with the coin in his hand. Irritated, Erik flung a pipe in Shaw's direction.

"The Helmet, Erik! Answer me!" Charles snapped.

"A murderer is standing in front of us and you're worried about a helmet?" Erik said incredulously. "Your job was simple: Just keep him under control. Instead, you let him go!"

"It's not just a helmet, Erik, " Charles retorted. "Why are you wearing it? I'm not your enemy! And I'm the only telepath here!"

"You would have stopped me," Erik replied. "You would have insisted he have a fair trial, when we both know he won't make it that far! Look at him! He's too dangerous to be allowed to live! Why did you let him go?"

"Charles and I were having a pleasant conversation," Shaw cut in. "A conversation we didn't get to finish. Join me, both of you, and together we can set the world on fire. Mutants will take their rightful place as the superior race. Isn't that what we all want?"

"You killed my mother," Erik said through gritted teeth. "I will never join you!"

Shaw shook his head. "That is a pity. Charles?"

"That's not what I want," Charles said softly.

"I know what you want," Shaw said quietly. "You want someone who isn't afraid of your gift. You found me. You want someone who understands what you're going through. You've met Emma. In fact, I believe the company of a fellow telepath is just what you both need."

Charles hesitated. When he had first met Emma, he had been upset that she was blocking him. The second time they had met, their mental connection had been brief but intoxicating. They hadn't exchanged words so much as feelings. There was_ recognition-joy-contentment,_ interrupted by Erik's impatience, and then there was a brief _sorrow-disappointment_ before they parted. It would be nice to meet his fellow telepath under more ideal circumstances. And Shaw. Yes, the man was a bit mad, but he didn't view Charles' gift as something that needed to be repressed. And Shaw's own mutation was amazing. Charles was fooling himself if he didn't admit that he wanted to see more of it.

"Charles," Erik said uncertainly. "Surely you aren't considering it for even a second. It goes against everything you believe in!" Charles' gaze turned toward Erik. He only had to stare disdainfully at that Helmet in order to make up his mind.

Shaw's smile was almost predatory. "Don't you deserve to get what you want?"

"I do," Charles replied.

Erik's eyes darkened in anger. Around them the metal of the submarine groaned. The floor under Charles' feet shifted.

"Now, now, Erik, is that how you treat your friends?" Shaw admonished. A light tap sent Erik sprawling on the floor. Shaw knelt down next to Erik. "This isn't yours," he said, slipping the Helmet off Erik's head.

Shaw slowly stood up. Charles stood still, staring mesmerized at that troublesome Helmet. Erik kept his eyes on Charles. Shaw walked toward Charles, lovingly stroking the Helmet. Then he smiled. "Why don't you hold on to this for me?" He held out the Helmet. Charles took the object and stared at it, gripping it tightly in his hands. Who would have guessed that such an innocent-looking object could cause so much trouble?

**I don't need it now that I have you.**

* * *

*****Author's Note*****

_The original prompt was:_****Charles is the world's strongest telepath. He know's literally want it feels like to be feared. He hates being feared. When the group goes up against Shaw, in Cuba, he can't feel Shaw's emotions because of the helmet. Erik and Charles enter the submarine together. After they get off his helmet, Shaw doesn't fear Charles' gift.

Some how Charles leaves with Shaw and his people.  
I'm wondering if there is a believable way to have a story where Charles stops Erik from killing Shaw. Not because Charles thinks he shouldn't be killed, but because of Shaw's lack of fear.

_I was going to leave it at that, but my brain decide to create an entire universe out of this. We'll see how that turns out._


	2. I've Been Waiting For This Chance

_"The lights are on," someone said unnecessarily. Raven didn't care who said it. All she cared about was that her brother was here, even though Erik said he wouldn't be. She knew Erik had been mistaken. Charles would never side with someone like Shaw. Charles was all about peace, and fitting in with everyone else, and Shaw was the exact opposite of that. Obviously Charles had some elaborate plan that required fooling Erik, maybe even the rest of them. If that was the case, Raven was willing to play along for now.  
Raven stepped out of the car and took off at a run toward the mansion where she grew up._

_"Wait!"  
Raven felt herself being held back by an unseen force. She glared at nothing in particular as she waited for Erik and the others to catch up with her._

_"It could be a trap," Erik warned her._

_"I've called for backup," Moira added._

_"Charles wouldn't do that to me- to us,"Raven snapped._

_"I only meant that we should proceed with caution," said Erik. He glared at Moira . "We all know as well as you do that your 'back-up' won't even make it past the gates if he doesn't want them to."_

_"Wait a minute," Sean spoke up. "If the professor has switched sides, why are we going in there?"_

_"He's here for a reason," Erik replied. "I'm going to find out what it is. You can wait in the car if you like."  
Sean shook his head."Hey all for one, and- something. I'm in."_

_"This is all a misunderstanding. You'll see," Raven said confidently. "Now let me go!"_

With a grimace, Charles pulled himself out of Raven's mind. Actions had consequences. Everyone knew that, but he was just now remembering that. This wasn't going to be a pretty good-bye. Charles glanced nervously at the clock.

"Is still time to change mind, yes?"

Charles stared at the red-skinned teleporter and shook his head. "I need to do this. This may be the last time I see them in a friendly environment." He considered the anger rolling off Erik in waves."Well, a semi-friendly environment, anyway. Give me half an hour."

"One half-hour. If any problems, I bring reinforcements." Azazel disappeared in a swirl of smoke.

Charles sat down, wondering if Azazel was right, that this was pure sentimental felt their mind's drawing closer. He felt Erik's anger-_how dare he show up here?_; and Raven's hope-_all a mistake, all a mistake_; and Moira's fear-_this is a disaster, should never have contacted him_; Alex's uncertainty-_what's going to happen to me now?_;Sean's tension-_are we walking into another warzone?_; Hank's disappointment-_excellent teacher, maybe this is just a bad dream._ It all hurt, but the fear was the worst. Moira would have to go. She couldn't be trusted.

Charles shook his head and stared at the blueprints spread out on the table in front of him. This was insane. Azazel was right. This was a mistake. Charles stood up. This place was like a castle; there were hundreds of places to hide. He could hold out for thirty minutes.  
Charles heard the front door open and sank back into his seat. Raven knew all the hiding places here anyway.

"Charles?" Raven called out. Charles didn't answer. They would find him soon enough. He picked up a pen and marked off a section on the blueprint. He stared at the change, absentmindedly tapping the pen against the pen against the table. _Time to face the music,_ he thought idly

Charles felt him before he saw him. He glanced up to see Erik standing in the doorway of the kitchen, emanating anger and confusion. Sean appeared behind him, shouting, "He's in here!" There was a pounding of feet, and then Raven was shoving Erik through the doorway and out of her way. She threw her arms around Charles. "I was so worried about you," she whispered. Charles closed his eyes and drew in a shaky breath, savoring this moment with her before he had to shatter it.  
Raven pulled back. "Don't _ever_ do that to me again! You scared me! What exactly happened on that beach, and why were there construction workers here?"she demanded. "And what _possessed_ you to go with Shaw? He could have _killed_ you! And what is that bag doing in here? Actually, what's _in_ the bag? And how-"

Erik cleared his throat, putting a stop to Raven's barrage of questions. "What are you doing here, Charles?" he asked. "Where are your new friends?"

Charles turned to Raven. "I expect Erik already told you what happened," he said.  
Raven shook her head. "No, Charles. Not you. You wouldn't-"  
"I did," Charles cut in.  
"But why?" Raven asked. "What can he possibly give you that you don't have already?"

"Acceptance," Charles replied. He smiled briefly at the memory of being in Shaw's mind before returning to the matter at hand. "Mutant and proud," he said mockingly. "That's the phrase isn't it? Everyone is encouraged to use their powers, to stop hiding. Except me. You all expect me to hold back, to keep my own powers to a minimum, except when it's convenient. You expect me to 'respect your privacy' and stay out of your heads. But I can't. I can refrain from diving deep into your minds, but I can't block out the surface thoughts."

"Wait," Raven interjected. "You told me you were blocking out my thoughts."

Charles shrugged. "I lied," he said simply.

"Why didn't you just tell me you couldn't block it?" Raven exclaimed. "You promised you weren't reading my mind."

"You stopped avoiding me when I made that promise, didn't you?" Charles replied.  
A dawning horror came across her face. Charles decided to spare her and turned his attention away from her. His eyes landed on Moira instead. He raised a hand to his temple. Panic flared from all of them suddenly, causing his heartrate to triple for a few seconds. The metal in the room vibrated warningly.  
"You should know, your backup just arrived," he told Moira. "They are currently wondering whether you gave them the wrong directions, as there is only wasteland here as far as the eye can see. Ah, they're leaving now. You should join them. This is none of your business."

"I don't think-" Moira began but Charles cut her off.

"That wasn't a request. You are no longer welcome here. Now _go."_  
Moira's eyes widened and she slowly backed out of the kitchen. Charles felt her run toward a vehicle and reach for a radio inside.  
"Now, now, Moira, that wasn't what I asked you to do," he murmured. He pushed deeper into her mind and instructed her to return to the CIA headquarters with her fellow agents. He would have to deal with them later.

"What kind of game do you think you're playing?" Erik demanded.  
Charles blinked, forcibly withdrawing his mind from the departing CIA agents. _Never again_, he swore to himself. _I am never going to freely aid a human government again._  
With a shudder, Charles returned his focus to the situation at hand. Azazel would be back soon; Charles needed to wrap this up quickly.

"Shaw isn't repelled at all by my telepathy," Charles said softly, dreamily recalling what it was like being in Shaw's mind. The madness of Shaw's ideals and the resulting violent methods in realizing them would be difficult to overlook, but Charles was willing to do so in favor of the absence of _fear_ that went with it. It was a package deal; he couldn't have one without the other.

"That's it?" Raven demanded, breaking through Charles' musing. Right. He really needed to focus. "He doesn't hate that you're a mutant so you decide that's a good enough reason to join him?"

"I said he wasn't repelled by my _telepathy_," Charles repeated, slightly irritated. When would she _listen_ to him? "The rest of you are."  
"Charles-"  
"Wait a minute. I never said-"  
"Professor, it isn't like that-"  
"We're not repelled by-"

**STOP!** Charles shouted into their minds, and a blissful silence fell in the kitchen.

"Don't. Just- don't. You can't lie to a telepath, so please don't try." _Not while I still have some respect for you. _"I hear it from your thoughts all the time. I hear it from the thoughts of everyone I've told over the years about my telepathy. Yes, I wiped their memories of the knowledge afterwards, but that doesn't change how they felt beforehand. I always thought that was the way it was always going to be, that I'd just have to suck it up and move past it. Meeting Shaw made me realize I don't have to accept it."

"Shaw is a madman!" Erik snapped. "We can grow to get used to your telepathy if you'll just give us time."

Charles shook his head ruefully. "I've waited long enough," he said. And this was it. The moment they officially separated. Sort of. But Raven was still his sister, and he still cared for Erik, and he had personally chosen these boys for his team. He had to make sure they were taken care of.

Charles steeled himself and stood up. "Right. So I came back to say good-bye. Also to tell you about my plans for this house," he said.

"We don't care about your plans for the house," Erik retorted. "We'll just leave."

"That isn't necessary," Charles said. "I won't be using this place, so someone else might as well use it. You are all welcome to stay here as long as you like under only one condition: I would like this place to remain open as a sanctuary to all mutants. There are so many out there who deserve a safe place to stay, no matter what side they eventually choose to be on. The west wing however, I've kept closed off for my own use, but don't worry. I'll only come here as a last resort."

Erik stared at Charles in disbelief. "You're proposing to turn this place into a neutral zone for mutants," he stated.  
Charles nodded hesitantly. "And you intend to use it as a last resort safehouse for you, possibly others," Erik added.

There was a shocked silence as everyone absorbed what had been said.

"Fine," Erik said at last. "But I have conditions of my own. Shaw never sets foot on these grounds. And if you ever come back here, make sure anyone you bring with you understands that this is a neutral zone."

"Done," Charles said in relief. He hadn't expected Erik to agree to his proposal, but Charles would have agreed to almost anything if it meant these kids would have at least one safe place to stay. Shaw had already agreed to never launch an attack of any kind on this estate as a "welcome to the family" gift to Charles, but he had stressed that anyone found outside the estate was fair game. All Charles could do for their safety was to ensure there was a place they could go where they didn't have to fear being attacked by enemy mutants.

"You don't have to go," Raven pleaded. "We can regroup, train harder!"

"I've made my decision," Charles said firmly. He glanced at the clock again. Azazel would be here any minute now. "So. There's an account set up for this place, so money should not be an obstacle for you."

A flash of smoke announced Azazel's return.

"No problems?" he asked.

"No problems," Charles confirmed. "Almost finished here." He turned to his now-former comrades. "This time tomorrow, no humans will remember what really happened in Cuba, or any of the events involving mutants leading up to the Cuba crisis. So it's a clean slate for all of us."

"Where are you going?" Erik asked.

Charles shook his head. "You shouldn't interfere," he said. "Without a telepath, you don't stand a chance."

"No," Erik replied. "We'll fight Shaw with every step he takes, and I will kill him, make no mistake."

Azazel smirked and Charles raised an eyebrow. "You'll try," Charles corrected him.

"You won't last," Erik stated. "You're too different. I'll be here, we'll all be here, keeping _your_ dream alive for you. And when you realize you've made a mistake, we'll be here waiting, ready to pick up the pieces."

"I can take care of myself just fine, Erik," Charles retorted. "I don't need you. Last stop, Azazel, I promise."

Charles and Azazel disappeared in a swirl of smoke, leaving five stunned mutants behind.


End file.
